Life and Times at Cheyenne High
by AWildeRomantic
Summary: The ultimate high school!SG-1 adventure. Sam's two years at Cheyenne High School turn out to be far more than she'd expected as she tries to free herself and friends from the grip of the infamous gang known as the System Lords. SamJack among others.
1. Love Me, Hate Me

A/N – Hey, folks! I really liked my idea behind this fic, but had forgotten about it for a while, so, I thought the best way to get back into it was start fresh from the beginning. So for those of you who've read it already, here's the improved version.

For those of you who haven't, this is my version of the loveable "SG-1 in high school story", but with my own signature twists to it. So sit back, strap in, and get ready for high school…stargate style.

In this first part there is Sam/Jack and Daniel/Janet, though there will be more later on. And there will be some major character death, but it's nothing that doesn't actually happen in the show.

* * *

Chapter 1: Love me, Hate me

"_Love me or hate me still an obsession,_

_Love me or hate me that is the question…"_

Lady Sovereign

"Come on, kiddo, you can do this."

Sam barely heard her dad's words over her music. With that perfect eye roll that she'd been working on for years, Sam pulled her earphones off and smiled sweetly at Jacob. "I know, Dad…I've only been to what…three new schools since freshman year? This ought to be a breeze."

"I know it's been hard," Jacob said with a sigh, reaching over to lightly touch his daughter's arm. "But hopefully this transfer will be a little more permanent."

Sam snorted, rolling her eyes again. She'd learned long ago that when it came to her father's placements, _nothing_ was permanent. Especially since her mother… Sam choked at the thought and pushed it to the back of her mind. She couldn't think about that, especially not today. Today she had to be strong. It was the only way she could cope with being the outsider in a place like this.

"I'll be ok, Dad," she reassured him, opening the door and stepping out of the car. Sam swung her backpack over one shoulder, tucking an errant strand of her hair out of her eyes, then leaned back into the car to say goodbye to her dad.

"Have a good first day, Sammy." Jacob said, smiling at her.

Sam managed to return the smile, despite the swarm of butterflies suddenly doing tangos in her stomach. "Uhuh. I'll see you when I get home."

With that she straightened up, slamming the door shut and turning around. Keeping her eyes on the huge brick building in front of her she crossed the street and stepped up onto the front lawn of Cheyenne High School.

Sam took a few deep, calming breaths and looked around. It was almost exactly like any of the other high schools she'd been to, with groups of students swarming the front lawn, playing and arguing or just standing and staring at people. But there were some differences, sure…in the past most of the schools she'd gone to had been the richer, suburban and strictly _white_ ones…As Sam looked around at the other students she saw a wider range of people than she was used to and it half intrigued her and half frightened her. But the intrigue definitely won out in the end.

Steeling herself, Sam threw her shoulders back and walked confidently up the front steps and into the building. The first bell obviously hadn't rung yet, so the halls were empty and she was able to get to the main office without any trouble. After waiting along the wall in the office for what felt like an hour, Sam was greeted by one of the guidance councilors who gave her her new schedule and some other rather mundane information about the school.

Halfway through first period Sam found herself walking to English with a late pass and the same swarm of butterflies in her stomach.

The teacher of the junior English class was a tall, graceful woman named Ms. Desala who gave Sam a kind smile and introduced her to the class. Sam glanced around at the others, laughing to herself when she saw that half of them didn't even seem to notice she'd walked in.

Ms. Desala seated Sam in the front row next to a boy with light brown hair and glasses. He'd been fiddling with a pencil and staring out the window, but turned and smiled at Sam as she sat down.

"So where'd you transfer from?" he asked, turning in his seat to face her.

"Washington D.C., actually. My dad's in the Air Force," she explained, leaning over to get some paper out of her backpack. "So they have to keep moving him around. This is way better than living on a base, but, like, this is the fourth high school I've been at."

"Oo." The boy winced sympathetically, then said, "I'm Daniel, by the way. Daniel Jackson."

"Samantha Carter," Sam said, then grinned slightly and shrugged. "Er, Sam."

The boy who was sitting behind her laughed quietly, and Sam turned, frowning at him.

"What?"

"Sam, huh?" He was fairly good looking, but Sam didn't like the look of the roguish grin on his face.

Sam narrowed her eyes, bristling slightly. "You got a problem with that?"

"Well…nah not really," the boy rested his chin in his hand. "Just, _some people_ might get the wrong impression. You know, 'sam', short hair. They might think you're some sort of dy - "

"Oh, fuck off, Kowalski!" Daniel snapped, rolling his eyes. "Just because there's a pretty girl sitting in front of you finally doesn't mean you've gotta harass her."

Kowalksi sat up straighter in his chair, roguish grin immediately changing to a sneer. "Don't you be talking shit to me, Jackson. I don't care if you're dating the head cheerleader, you can't be telling me to fuck off…"

Daniel didn't seem phased in the least and merely grinned at Kowalski. "Oh, but you know Janet could beat your ass so…yeah I can." Both he and Sam turned back around, exchanging smirks. Daniel held out his hand. "Hey, lemme see your schedule…"

Sam was pleased that by the time the bell rang she was feeling a little less intimidated about the school. She and Daniel had different second hour classes, but Daniel said he'd see her again at lunch and they went their separate ways.

Sam went to advanced math next. She entered the room and was faced with a smaller group of what appeared to be mostly seniors. Wonderful.

Her math teacher, who also happened to be the football coach, was a balding, muscular man by the name of Hammond. After reading the note the guidance councilor had sent with Sam he gave her a tight smile and told her to take a seat anywhere. Sam took one of the empty sears in the front, doing her best to avoid anyone's gaze as she took out a notebook.

"O'Neill," Coach Hammond barked once the class had settled down and gotten their stuff out. Sam turned and saw that the was addressing a good looking boy with dark, chocolate brown eyes who was slouched in one of the seats in the back. "Why don't you put the first problem from the homework on the board?"

O'Neill stood up and sauntered to the board. Glancing at his notebook he copied the problem and his solution. Sam frowned at the problem for a moment, making a few, quick calculations in her own notebook. Hammond was just eyeing through O'Neill's work, saying that it looked good so far when Sam's hand flew into the air.

"Sir, it's wrong."

Hammond raised his eyebrows and gestured at the board. "Would you like to give it a try, Miss Carter?"

Biting her lip, Sam stood and walked up to the board. "Right here it says to take the absolute value of 'x', so…" she erased part of O'Neill's solution and rewrote it. "That changes the rest of this. It's not a sine function, it's cosine."

"I checked that like fifteen times!" O'Neill hissed from where he stood, halfway back to his desk. "How can it be wrong?"

Sam just shrugged and tapped the board. "You forgot the absolute value of X."

"Very good work, Miss Carter." Hammond said, nodding his approval before turning to the class. "I'm sure most of you probably didn't get that one correct, so be sure to copy this down."

Sam walked back to her seat, nervously sliding into it. A few moments later she felt something hit her in the side of the head and glanced down to see a balled up piece of paper on the floor. She turned to glare at whoever had thrown it and locked gazes with O'Neill.

"Geek!" he mouthed, glaring at her.

* * *

Right up there with sitting down for an exam you've never studied for was the experience of walking into the cafeteria of a new school for the very first time. Sam hated that part of going to a new school most of all. It was the overwhelming sensation of feeling like you're the only one who doesn't belong, the only one without a table to sit at. Each lunchroom has its own rules, its own code of conduct and Sam knew very well the consequences suffered by newcomers who didn't bother to figure out what that code was.

So here she was, standing in the doorway to the Cheyenne High cafeteria, clutching her lunch and nervously looking around to try and spot Daniel.

"Hey, you're Sam Carter, right?"

Turning, Sam found herself facing a stunningly pretty yet short girl with long auburn hair and wide brown eyes.

"Uh, yeah." Sam shifted nervously.

"Janet Fraiser," the girl grinned up at her. "I'm Daniel's girlfriend, he told me to look for you. Come on, you can sit with us." She took Sam by the arm and forcefully steered her across the lunchroom to a table where Daniel already sat, nose stuck in a book as he picked at the tray of food before him. A little ways down from him was a group of loudly chattering girls who, judging by the way they greeted Janet, were the rest of the cheerleaders. Janet sat down next to Daniel and Sam took a seat across from them.

"So," Daniel said, putting his book down and grinning at Sam. "How's your first day at Cheyenne High been?"

"C-house!" Janet chanted and Daniel elbowed her. They both giggled, though Daniel rolled his eyes.

Sam merely shrugged. "It's ok I guess. But, oh my gosh, there's this guy in my math class that _must_ hang out with Kowalski or something…Jack O'Neill?"

"Oh, yeah," Daniel made a face. "He hangs out with Kowalski alright. They're like best friends."

"They're both on the football team," Janet explained. "And almost every girl in the entire school has a crush on Jack O'Neill…oh but if only his manners matched his looks."

"He _is_ better than Kowalski, though, you have to admit…" Daniel said, slipping an arm around Janet's waist. "O'Neill just makes fun of people, he doesn't actually punch you in the face." Janet snorted at that.

Sam raised her eyebrows. "Did Kowalski punch you in the face?"

"Uhuh," Daniel nodded. "Freshman year. He broke my glasses too. That's when I figured out that being geeky probably wasn't the best course of action."

"O'Neill called me a geek today." Sam muttered.

"Really? Just ignore him, hun, he probably just likes you," Janet said. She leaned against Daniel.

Daniel laughed. "Aww, you made Sam blush."

"What?!" Janet rolled her eyes. "Well, maybe she doesn't need Jack O'Neill but she should have someone."

"Yeah!" Daniel grinned. "Sam, you should really try dating a cheerleader, it worked out great for me."

Sam narrowed her eyes. "Shut up."

"Daniel…?" Janet arched one eyebrow at Daniel.

"Oh…." Daniel shrugged. "Kowalski was just insinuating that…" he said the next part with an over exaggerated British accent, though Sam wasn't quite sure why, "Samantha was a homosexual."

Janet scowled. "You're mean," she said, then scooted closer and kissed Daniel. Sam looked awkwardly down at her lunch until she was sure they were done.

"So, Sam," Daniel said a minute later. "I think we've got History together after lunch. I have to warn you though, O'Neill and Kowalski are in that class."

Janet noticed the annoyed look on Sam's face and reached over to pat her arm comfortingly. "You'll be fine, don't worry."

Janet was right, of course. Walking with Daniel up to the history classroom, Sam was feeling even more like she belonged. O'Neill shot her an annoyed look as she walked into the room, but she shot him one back and that was the extent of their interaction for the entire hour.

* * *

"Hey! Sam, over here!"

Buffeted from side to side by the flow of students streaming out of the building and onto the front lawn, Sam was barely able to push her way over to where Janet and Daniel were standing near the gate to the parking lot. There was a small, brown haired girl standing next to Janet, clutching her books to her chest. Her resemblance to Janet made Sam quite sure that she was probably Janet's sister, or cousin at the very least.

"Want a ride home?" Janet asked, dangling her car keys in front of Sam's face. "It really beats taking the bus, trust me."

"Sure," Sam said. "I mean, if it isn't out of the way for you."

"You said Highland, right?" Janet said and Sam nodded. "That's pretty much on my way, so no problemo. This is my little sister Cassie, by the way. Cassie, this is Sam." The girl smiled shyly at Sam over the top of her books and said nothing.

A minute later Sam was sitting in the back seat of Janet's car next to Cassie. She was laughing and talking with Janet and Daniel about her day and was almost sad to say goodbye when they pulled up in front of her house.

"Whoo…is that seriously where you live?" Janet asked, eyes widening as she leaned around Daniel to look out the window at Sam's house.

Sam looked up at it as well, making a face. "Yeah, I think it's way too big."

"No no no, honey, you _have_ to tell me when you're dad's out of town for a weekend." Janet turned to grin at Sam. "We could have such a kick ass party…"

"Are you kidding?! My dad's a general in the Air Force. He would _kill _me."

Janet laughed. "Ok ok."

"Anyway, I'll see you guys tomorrow," Sam said, getting out of the car.

"Yeah, bye Sam!" Janet and Daniel chorused.

Sam trotted up the front walk and into the house, finding her father waiting for her in the living room. Most of their furniture was set up, but the stacks of boxes sitting everywhere only pronounced the fact that they weren't quite settled in yet.

"You're home earlier than I'd thought," her father said, closing the binder he'd been writing in as Sam rushed over to give him a hug.

"Uhuh, I got a ride home."

"Making friends already?" Jacob smiled at his daughter.

Sam nodded, grinning as she leaned against the archway that led into the room. "Yeah. Did Mark call today?"

"No he didn't," Jacob shook his head as he got to his feet. "You should try emailing him. It could be that he's going through one of those phases and just doesn't want to talk to me."

Sam nodded, sighing heavily. She turned and ran up the stairs and to her room, closing the door behind her. After her mother's death two years ago her brother Mark, who was now a junior in college, had spoken very little with Sam, and even less with their father. It had seemed that while Sam had managed to forgive their father and stop blaming him for their mother's death, her older brother hadn't.

Dropping her backpack on the floor amidst the still unpacked boxes of her own belongings, Sam lay down on her bed and smiled a little to herself. Aside from Mark things didn't seem to be going too bad, she'd already made friends and Cheyenne High was definitely a change from the schools she was used to going to…maybe everything was actually starting to look up for a change.

* * *

The next morning in front of the school Sam met up with a very groggy looking Daniel and an already peppy Janet. They were sitting on a bench under some trees, and Daniel was sipping from a thermos of coffee while Janet fixed her makeup in the mirror of her compact. Sam squeezed onto the bench next to Janet, running a hand through her own hair and feeling slightly diminished.

A sudden commotion from the other side of the lawn caused everyone to stop what they were doing and look up. Janet got to her feet, swearing softly under her breath. Sam got up as well and from where she stood could see a group of four boys that appeared to be pushing a fifth to the ground. They were on the main walkway and even from her distance Sam could see that the four had the same strange symbol tattooed on the side of their neck.

"Who are they?" Sam asked Janet, watching as some security guards rushed out of the school to break up the fight.

"They're System Lords," Janet explained as everyone went back to what they were doing. "It's this gang…huge, I swear and really bad."

"There's some kids here that are pretty high up in it too," Daniel said. "It's really dumb, their 'thing' is they take these nicknames that are the names of ancient gods. Like…who are those guys?"

"Anubis…" Janet said, rolling her eyes. "Baal…what's his name? Moloch. It's stupid. They think they're cool because everyone's terrified of them."

Sam nodded, biting her lip. She watched as the security guards pulled the four guys apart and escorted them into the building. Her schools in the past had never had a problem with gangs before. Her father had always tried to be as careful as possible and get her into only the best schools, but this time it had been on such short notice, and the year had already started, so none of the better schools had been able to take her.

_Oh well_. Sam thought as the bell rang and everyone stood up to file into the building. _I guess there's a first time for everything._


	2. A Friend of Mine

Chapter 2: A Friend of Mine

_"Watch how the moon sits in the sky on a dark night…"_

_- Linkin Park_

The next week passed and Sam continued to settle into her new life. It got easier and easier as time went by, as she made more friends and found her own little niche in the sturdy social structure of Cheyenne High. Of course, it helped that one of the first people she'd met was Janet Fraiser, who, despite her size, could throw quite a bit of weight around when she wanted something done.

A week or so after Sam arrived everyone was eagerly discussing the homecoming game and dance which were on Saturday. Sam spent a few minutes wistfully wishing to go to the dance, but that quickly passed. She was new and still didn't have a 'significant other' as Daniel had put it, so other than a vague desire to do something that would probably end up annoying her father, she didn't feel much obligation to go. She and Daniel _would_ go to the game, however, though only to see Janet cheer.

"It's always so much fun," Janet was saying to Sam over lunch on Tuesday. Daniel was off doing something for one of his teachers and so the two girls were left on their own for their lunch hour. "Really, you're going to love it. The game's really hype and then the parade and…" She grinned. "You should really come to the dance too."

"I'm not exactly a dance type of person, really…" Sam shrugged. It was a bit of a lie, but she didn't want Janet to keep pestering her about it. "It's not my thing. Besides, I'd look pretty dumb going by myself."

Janet waved one hand dismissively. "So we'll find you a date! Ok, so if you could go out with any guy in the school…"

"Janet…!"

"Come on, you must think _someone_ here is cute!" Janet moaned desperately, staring at Sam with a trademark, wide eyed, pleading expression.

Sam had been digging through her bag and looked up at Janet with a glare. "Cute, sure. But _dateable_? Definitely not."

"Well, cute then, cute's a start!" Janet's eyes widened even more, if that was possible. "This cute person has a name, doesn't he?"

Sam could feel her cheeks burning a little. She felt a little stupid and conformist admitting it, even just to herself. Admitting it would mean lowering herself to the rank of every other drooling, boy crazy girl in the school and she wasn't quite ready to do that just yet. Especially because her first impression of Jack O'Neill so far had been that he was a pompous jerk, no matter how entrancing his eyes were. No. She definitely couldn't tell anyone, not even Janet. "It doesn't matter. He's a senior, so I definitely wouldn't date him."

Janet pouted. "Poo. You're not going to tell me?"

"Absolutely not."

With a resigned sigh, Janet crumpled up her napkin and tossed it onto her tray, still shooting disappointed glances at Sam. "But you're coming to the game? With Daniel, right? Because I don't know if I can trust my guy alone." She giggled.

"Yeah yeah," Sam said, rolling her eyes. "I'm coming to the game."

* * *

Saturday morning turned out to be comfortable enough, but there was still that now ever present autumnal chill in the air. Sam and Daniel packed onto the bleachers out behind the school with the rest of their classmates to watch the game, as their own fearless Warriors battled it out against the Cougars from a rival school.

"Didn't Cassie want to come?" Sam shouted, leaning over towards Daniel to be heard above the noise of the fans.

Daniel shrugged. "Janet said she doesn't really like football games. Doesn't surprise me. She's so shy."

It was true. It had taken Cassie a good week or so before she actually started talking to Sam. But once she did it was apparent how much she'd taken to her sister's new friend, and now had begun trailing around after Sam like a shadow whenever she could. Sam thought it was cute, and Janet seemed relieved that it was Sam and not herself that Cassie was clinging to.

"She might be cute to you," Janet had told Sam a few days ago. "But as my little sister she can be soo effing annoying sometimes…"

Sam wasn't really following the game. She'd never been a sports person and found the whole concept slightly pointless. Besides, she'd only come to see Janet, anyway. Daniel didn't seem very interested in the game either. He kept his eyes glued on where Janet was with the other cheerleaders and when Sam happened to glance over Janet shot Daniel a dazzling smile that left him more than a little red in the face.

She did pay a little attention to the game, watching the two teams and cheering whenever the Warriors scored. The largest kid on the team was a junior named Teal'c. Sam had seen him around school, it was hard _not _to, to tell the truth. He was a good half a foot taller than most of the other students and twice as wide, though it was all obviously rock hard muscle. The boy had his own fan club of swooning girls, though it wasn't quite as all encompassing as O'Neill, and Sam had heard rumors that Teal'c was involved with the System Lords.

Despite herself, Sam felt her eyes following O'Neill as he moved about the field. Then she'd catch herself doing it and mentally kick herself in the ass, and look away or lean over to say something to Daniel.

Finally the game ended and they stood up with everyone else, letting themselves be pushed out of the bleachers and back towards the building. They spotted Janet hurrying over a few minutes later, still in her cheer leading uniform.

Daniel immediately threw his arms around her, hugging her close and picking her up off the ground as he spun her around, then set her down and kissed her. "You were great, as usual."

"Of course." Janet grinned cheekily, kissing him back. She walked over and linked her arm through Sam's, leaning against her taller friend as the three of them headed towards the parking lot. "Told you it would be fun."

"Sure." Sam grinned, looking over the top of Janet's head at Daniel, who rolled his eyes and shrugged in a 'what can you do' sort of way.

What happened next happened so suddenly that Sam wasn't quite sure what was going on. One minute people were laughing and talking and shouting so loudly that at first no one really paid much attention to the loud bang that echoed off the surrounding buildings. They all assumed it was a car backfiring or someone shooting off some fireworks…and then all of the sudden people were screaming and running in a great wave away from the building in a dizzying panic.

"What the hell?!" Janet cried. Her arm tightened around Sam's, her other hand shooting out to grab Daniel's in an attempt to prevent them from getting separated. "What's going on…?!" They were all being pushed back in the direction of the parking lot, luckily.

"Hey!" Daniel reached out and grabbed the arm of a boy that Sam recognized from their English class. "What happened?"

The boy looked at Daniel, wide eyed and frighted. "Some guy's been shot! One of the kids on our team…they were going back into the locker room and some System Lord guys came up and they had a gun…I saw it from the bleachers…"

Fear rushed into Sam's stomach. She could already hear police sirens growing louder in the distance and leaned forward towards the boy. "Who was it?!"

The boy's eyes were darting nervously from side to side as though he was afraid the System Lords might pop out at any second and open fire on the crowd. "N-number 34, I think."

"Kowalski…!" Janet breathed. She tugged her hands away from Sam and Daniel, covering her mouth and looking shocked. "Oh God…"

Numbly they continued back to the parking lot. The police had pulled up by then and from what Sam caught of what they were saying, they'd managed to grab the kids who'd had the gun. Janet grabbed a hold of Sam and Daniel once again, all but dragging them along behind her to her car. Once inside with the doors closed all the noises from outside - the frightened shouts and screaming and sirens - seemed to finally die away.

"We'll go back to my place," Janet said, shaking. Neither Sam nor Daniel had any objection to that and merely exchanged a blank look as Janet pulled away.

Janet's house was a small, run down single family home a few miles from school. Sam was a little surprised by it; she'd never been to Janet's house before and it certainly wasn't what she imagined. Everyone at school always assumed that Janet's family was well off, she always wore the latest fashions and never seemed short on money. But thinking back Sam now remembered Daniel saying something about the two jobs she had to keep up appearances…

Cassie was sitting on the couch when they trooped in. She grinned when she saw them and leapt up, rushing over to wrap her arms around Sam the way a little girl might hug a teddy bear. Sam managed a weak smile and, pleased, Cassie returned to the couch.

A short, nondescript woman who must be their mother came out of the door that led into the kitchen. She looked like she might have once had some of Janet's beauty, but it had all become hidden under a layer of fatigue.

"Janet…? What's wrong?" She glanced at the three juniors, noticing the worried expressions on their faces.

"A kid on the team just got shot…" Janet said weakly, wandering over to the television and switching it to the news, then turning it off again once she saw they didn't have anything. "System Lords."

"Dear lord what is this world coming to…" Mrs. Fraiser said, shaking her head before returning to the kitchen.

Sam frowned slightly at the television. "You'd think they have something about it."

"They might later…a little thing…" Janet murmured. "But people get shot and killed by the SL all the time…it's not that rare…"

"Dad's not home yet," Cassie said from where she sat on the corner of the couch. "He's gonna freak when he hears about this."

"Yeah," Janet nodded dully, then started towards the stairs, motioning for Daniel and Sam to come with her. "Come on, lets go up to my room."

Janet got a call from one of the other girls on the squad a little later. After hanging up the phone she collapsed onto the bed next to Daniel, burying her face in his shoulder. Looking worried, Sam moved to sit on Janet's other side, reaching out and touching her back.

"Janet…?" she said tentatively.

Janet sniffed loudly, sitting up. "Kowalski didn't make it…he was gone before they even got him to the hospital…"

Daniel's arm tightened around her shoulders and he leaned over, kissing the top of her head comfortingly.

Sam leaned back against the wall, a frown crossing her face. She didn't like Kowalski. She doubted that, given the chance, she probably couldn't _ever_ like him. He didn't seem to have any redeeming qualities. And yet…she felt a sick, choking feeling when she thought about it. He hadn't deserved that. No one would deserve that.

"I…I should probably go home," Sam said quietly, standing up and grabbing her jacket from where she'd set it. "If my dad finds out what happened and I'm not home…"

Janet nodded, wiping the back of her hand across her eyes. "I'll drive you."

"You sure? I can always take the bus…"

"No, Sam, really. It'll be fine." Janet stood up and Daniel followed suit.

* * *

Jacob was beside himself with worry when he got home later. His immediate reaction was to pull Sam into a bone cracking hug, demanding to know over and over again if she was all right.

"Dad, I'm fine!" Sam cried, finally pulling away from him. "Seriously! I'm just a little…shaken up about it. I didn't even see it happen or anything, I was on the other side of the building."

She followed her father into the dining room. Sighing heavily Jacob walked over to the sideboard to pour himself a drink. "I know, Sam, I was just so worried about you. I heard on the news what happened and I rushed home as fast as I could…" He took a long sip of brandy and shook his head slowly. "I don't like this. I'm going to put in a request to transfer somewhere safer."

"Dad!" Despite what had happened Sam found the idea of moving again repulsive. "I just started making friends here, we can't…"

"Sammy! If you ever got hurt or killed I would _never_ forgive myself," Jacob said, setting his now empty glass down with a thud. He was glaring at her in his special fierce, parental, I'm-sorry-but-I'm-doing-this-because-I-love-you glare.

Sam glared right back. "Give it another chance. It's not like this is something that happens every day or anything."

Jacob stared at her for a minute, lips pursed and brow furrowed. "We'll see. I'm still going to check with my CO and see if there are openings anywhere else, but…I guess this isn't a definite one way or the other. But if _anything_ happens to convince me otherwise, we're moving, transfer or not. And next year I'm going to at least try and get you into a better school."

* * *

"My brother called me on Saturday," Sam said Monday morning as she sat with Daniel and Janet in their usual spot on the bench under the trees. "He heard about what happened and wanted to know if I was ok."

Janet shot her a sideways look. "You make it sound like that's weird."

"He doesn't usually talk to me." Sam said, shrugging. "After our mom died he kinda cut himself off…I mean…we both blamed Dad for it but I guess Mark just never forgave him." Sam looked down, feeling her throat start closing up the way it usually did when she talked about her mother. It had happened years ago and yet she still found it an almost unbearably painful subject.

She felt the lump in her throat shrink a little when Janet pulled her into a hug. "We're all ok," Janet said quietly. "I'm just happy about that."

A somber air had settled like a shroud over the school, or maybe it was just in Sam's imagination. She couldn't quite tell. Someone had set up a little makeshift memorial out by the football field and people were leaving letters and flowers and teddy bears…everyone seemed to be talking quieter too and the mood wasn't helped by the presence of a few more security guards.

The full impact of it all didn't really hit Sam until she walked into Math and saw O'Neill sitting in the front row, chin resting on his folded arms, a glum expression on his face. The other boys he usually hung out with were at their regular spots in the back, talking amongst themselves. Cautiously, Sam sat in the desk next to O'Neill.

He glanced over and caught her watching him. "What?" he snapped.

"I…" Sam bit her lip, not sure what to say. "I'm sorry about Kowalski."

O'Neill snorted, sitting back in his chair and folding his arms over his chest. "What would you know about it?""

"My mom died a couple years ago." It came out sounding so matter-of-fact that Sam surprised herself. Maybe it was because she'd already been talking to Janet and Daniel about it, or maybe she was just overcompensating to keep her emotions in check.

"Sucks," O'Neill muttered, shooting her a fleeting look of pity. "My little brother Charlie died too. Got hit by a stray bullet."

Sam's eyes widened. She had no idea what to say to something like that; apparently there was a lot more to Jack O'Neill than met the eye.

"Don't bother to say something," he grumbled, hunching his shoulders and looking down at his desk. "You live your whole life I this fucking city and you can't avoid loosing people to them. Not that someone like you would be able to understand that."

They lapsed into silence. Hammond took roll as usual and put the warm-up on the board. Sam was just finishing the last problem when O'Neill spoke again, quietly.

"He was in with them."

"Huh?" Sam looked at him, a little surprised. His last remark had left her with the feeling that he'd rather not talk to her and yet here he was.

"Kowalski was in with the System Lords," Jack was resting his chin in one hand. "It wasn't an accident that he got shot."

Sam gaped at him. "Did you tell the police?"

"Yeah, but they'd guessed it already. He wasn't a member or nothing…just dealt with them. Drugs or whatever." Sam didn't miss the backwards glance that Jack shot at the boys sitting in the back of the room and it slowly dawned on her as to why he probably wasn't sitting with them.

"Them too?" She said in barely more than a whisper.

"More people than you'd think," Jack said, not looking at her. "But shit, my friend was fucking killed by them cus he rubbed someone the wrong way. I'm not going to have anything to do with them, not that I ever really wanted to..."

"I don't get why anyone _would_ be involved with them."

"Pfft, Geek, you're so proving my point," Jack said, laughing bitterly. "Ok, seriously, where're you from?"

"Originally?"

"Whatever."

"A lot of places, I guess…I mean Dad's in the Air Force, so…"

"There you go. You don't know what it's like to live like this because you probably always get the best of whatever. You're probably like those army brats and are used to having guards at the gate. You don't know what it's like to live where there are System Lords whatever way you turn. Sometimes you can't help but get involved in them. Sometimes 'cuz of your family, sometimes you just don't have any other choice. It's easy for you to say stuff like that because you couldn't possibly understand."

Sam sighed, about to reply but Hammond drew their attention back up to the front of the room. She knew that tomorrow O'Neill would probably go back to his usual spot and never speak to her again, and that this brief conversation was the only one she'd have with him, and yet he surprised her again when the bell rang at the end of class and they all stood up to head out. As he shoved his books into his backpack, Jack turned to her and flashed a weak smile her way, saying "See you tomorrow, Geek," before leaving the classroom.

Sam stared after him for a moment before remembering that she did have another class to hurry off to, which she did with a slight smile on her face. She didn't like him, of course, she wouldn't be reduced to just another girl pining after him, but still, the fact that he'd talked to her certainly wasn't a bad thing...


End file.
